Unraveling the in vitro antioxidant and neuroprotective potential of green amalgamated gold nanoparticles from Chang shuo huang ma (Corchorus olitorius (L)): Insights on SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cell lines

• Chang shuo huang ma (Corchorus olitorius) is traditionally used in China as herbal tea. • The aqueous leaves extract of Corchorus olitorius reduced gold salt (Au+) to gold nanoparticles (Au0). • Green synthesized gold nanoparticles (CO-AuNP) were characterized by UV, FTIR, XRD, DLS, SEM and EDX. • The CO-AuNP exhibited excellent invitro anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. • The CO-AuNP displayed outstanding neuroprotective effect in SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cell line. The global healthcare management for neurodegenerative disorders is increasing, mandating the need to discover safe and effective medications to manage them. The plant Chang shuo huang ma, commonly known as Corchorus olitorius (CO) is used in the folk Chinese medicine, thus extensively grown in China. Numerous traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) from natural products have shown beneficial effects in neurodegenerative diseases. The CO leaves were successively extracted using hexane, ethyl acetate, ethanol and water and subjected to qualitative phytochemical analysis and quantification of phenols and flavonoids. The aqueous extract of CO assisted the green synthesis of gold nanoparticles (Au 0 ). The green synthesized gold nanoparticles (CO-AuNP) were characterized by UV–Visible spectroscopy, FTIR, XRD, DLS, SEM and EDX. The CO-AuNP were screened for in vitro anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and neuroprotective potential. The aqueous extract showed presence of phenols, flavonoids, sterols, terpenoids and saponins with higher content of total phenol (3485.60 µg) and flavonoids (2578.44 µg). The UV–Vis spectroscopy showed a strong peak at 560 nm. The FTIR revealed the presence of bioactive functional groups on the surface of CO-AuNP. XRD analysis showed crystalline structure and DLS indicated a particle size of 101.7 nm with moderate stability (-0.3 mV) from zeta potential. The SEM images revealed the presence of irregular shapes of aggregated patterns of CO-AuNP and EDX indicated sufficient composition of elemental gold. The anti-inflammatory activity against heat induced protein denaturation and cyclooxygenase- II (COX-II) inhibition with IC 50 values of 167.06 and 149.46 µg/mL were observed. Antioxidant results were notable in DPPH assay with IC 50 value of 133.25 µg/mL. A dose-dependent cytotoxic effect was observed in normal L929 cell lines, with an IC 50 value of 204.11 µg/mL. Potential neuroprotective effects were observed in SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cell lines against trimethyltin chloride (TMT) induced neurotoxicity. The percentage of neuroprotection decreased with the increasing concentration of CO-AuNP, that is lower concentration (50 µg) has shown highest neuroprotection (86.25 %). The present findings feature the application and effectiveness of CO-AuNP against inflammation, oxidative and neuronal damage observed in numerous diseases including neurodegeneration, diabetes and cancer.